Grace Stanke, Miss America, Nuclear Engineer & Advocate, May Ally of the Month
Meet the Miss America Championing Nuclear Energy
Nuclear engineer Grace Stanke is the first Miss America in recent times to focus on energy issues. Through her global platform, Stanke advocates for nuclear energy and encourages young girls to enter STEM subjects and the nuclear industry.
A natural public speaker with poise and humility, Stanke is a midwesterner who grew up in a medium-sized town in Wisconsin. While her high school did not include nuclear energy extensively in the curriculum, Stanke studied nuclear engineering at the University of Wisconsin and shifted from being “unaffiliated” to believing nuclear is a critical resource. Stanke came to believe the science was widely misunderstood.
“It had a positive impact on the world around us, ranging from cancer treatments to energy production, to agricultural purposes,” Stanke said. “I was like, this is such an awesome thing. Why don’t we recognize it for what it does in the community?”
Historically, young women as a demographic have been the most anti-nuclear. Stanke feels fortunate that through her platform as Miss America, she has been able to reach this demographic.
Stanke said she is most proud when she receives direct messages from young women who tell her they are entering nuclear engineering because of one of her presentations.
“That to me is just incredible because your message reached somebody. Not only are you impacting their life in a positive way, but they’re going to go on to impact the world in an even more positive way,” Stanke said. “Every single time it happens, it still brings tears to my eyes.”
Stanke, right, at Vogtle Nuclear Plant’s operating room simulator for units 3 and 4 in Georgia.
At the large energy supplier, Constellation Energy, Stanke works as a nuclear fuels engineer and a clean energy advocate. Stanke assists in PWR core design on Constellation’s nuclear fleet, the largest in the nation. As a fuels engineer, Stanke has assisted with the refueling at Braidwood Unit 2 and Byron Unit 2. She develops reload and vendor products and supports the planning and delivery of all materials needed for refueling and post-outage operations. As an advocate for nuclear for the company, Stanke interacts with government officials, conducts school visits, and travels for speaking tours.
As a student at the University of Wisconsin, Stanke worked at a lab with the goal of producing a fusion reactor. Stanke said she is confident that a commercial fusion reactor will be realized within her lifetime. While she supports fusion research as an exciting technology, Stanke does not want fusion to distract from viable fission solutions that can be delivered today.
“Our energy crisis needs to be handled by solutions that we have today. Fusion doesn't have that commercial technology today yet, unfortunately,” Stanke said. “So I think it still is a little bit of a time away from (fusion). But I do think that nuclear fusion will be a (part of the) energy grid in the future. I support it. I am always excited to talk about it and my time working at the HS Accelerator, but I don't think it's the solution for today's energy issues.”
Stanke first entered Miss America competitions as a teenager to get better at playing the violin in front of crowds. She turned to it in college as a source of revenue to pay for an expensive education. The pageants helped her develop a suite of professional development skills, including networking, public speaking, and reflecting on how she wanted to carry herself in the world.
Stanke hopes she can be a role model for women in STEM and that the field changes, with more women involved, with the feeling that they have equal opportunity as men.
One of the advantages of the nuclear industry, Stanke said, and wants to share with young women is that it opens up many different occupations, including energy, medicine, research, and agriculture. Stanke said the industry wants to invest in its employees.
Stanke, left, at a radioactive waste facility in Japan.
Stanke uses her passions and hobbies to connect with people and guide conversations to nuclear. As an advocate, Stanke takes a “people first” approach and uses her interests, like water skiing and Miss America, to interact with people on energy issues and on a human level. Despite winning one of the most prestigious beauty and talent competitions in the world, Stanke views herself as an everyday person and enthusiastically engages in conversations with the public.
In the past several years, Stanke has advocated for nuclear on a global scale. In January and February, Stanke embarked on a speaking tour in Australia, urging the country to repeal its ban on nuclear energy. At COP 28 in Dubai, Stanke was a featured speaker. Stanke also attended the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris, where she spoke with energy ministers from around the world. She delivered several TEDx talks in the U.S. and hopes to expand to more general climate discussions beyond nuclear.
As part of building her platform, Stanke is writing a book on optimism, expected to be published in 2027.
Stanke said she advocates for nuclear because it’s clean, it’s effective, it’s reliable, and it provides high-paying jobs to communities. She said she is very optimistic about the nuclear industry deploying new reactors.
“I think the biggest things that we need to see for significant build out is the vendors themselves really making sure that they can deliver because that's the concern,” Stanke said. “We're seeing the funding available, we're seeing the motivation available. We're seeing the reason to build new nuclear available, but now, can the people who actually construct these reactors and design them deliver on that?”
Stanke emphasized that you don’t need to be Miss America or have a massive platform to advocate for nuclear. “All it takes is just having one conversation at a time.”